SoftBank, Ark seek to join Tether’s $20b funding round: Bloomberg

SoftBank Group and Ark Investment Management are looking to join Tether Holdings’ latest major funding round, a deal that could catapult the stablecoin giant to the top of the list of cryptocurrency companies.

SoftBank and Ark, according to Bloomberg, have initiated talks over the funding round and are keen on backing Tether Holdings SA.

The round, sources say, is significant and could value the USDT issuer as high as $500 billion. In this case, the investment could elevate Tether into the bracket of the world’s most valuable private companies.

According to the report, Tether is eyeing a private placement for $15–$20 billion in exchange for about 3% of the company. Funds would go toward bolstering the stablecoin giant’s expansion efforts, including initiatives in artificial intelligence and energy.

Tether is the “Stable Company”

Plans for a mega funding round comes on the back of Tether appointing Benjamin Habbel as its new chief business officer. Habbel, the co-founder and CEO of private equity firm Limestone Capital, will lead Tether’s organizational growth, as well as the company’s finance, investments, and portfolio expansion efforts.

Tether also recently announced its plans for USAT, a U.S.-regulated stablecoin earmarked for U.S. customers and expected to launch by year-end. Former White House crypto official Bo Hines is Tether USAT’s chief executive officer.

Meanwhile, Tether (USDT), the company’s flagship project, continues to see significant expansion. 

In a recent post on X, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said his stablecoin “is building the largest peer-to-peer network of money movement.” He noted that daily wallet-to-wallet USDT transfers stand at over $17.4 billion, accounting for 130x growth since 2020.